Variable drive mechanism



Aug. 10, 1954 c. RICARDS 2,685,802

VARIABLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June 27. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR (H/98L 6 1 RICH/795 ATTORNEYS Aug; 10, 1954 c. 1.. RICARDS 2,685,802

VARIABLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June 27. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 096K155 Z fP/CHADS BY pm M, Q'mY'M ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1954 c. RICARDS VARIABLE DRIVE MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 27. 1950 INVENTOR CHARLES L. fnICflRDS ATTORNEYS 10, 1954 v c. RICARDS 2,685,802

VARIABLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June 27. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 "III,

J v INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 10, 1954 fxti t i J'g iOt-IY elements which me er orates means -for-variablyadjustiiig the relative timing oitire two cminec't-eei- -eiements while drive is 'fififatibfl. impi'oved dr iveis eapahie of general application and may be used "to advantage in certain printing piesses to adjust "the-refifi'h'in time-between=a=meehanism that cuts sheets from a web and onsol-idates --them with one -61 inore uncut webs and amechanismthat Efiits'ihecofiSo'lidmted Webs and 'sh'eets'into sen-'- arat' iiape' products-or sections. I

Ifi-ineChafiica1'Eif-ives;it is sometimes necessam'y of afivis'abIeto provide mechanism capableof altering the relative timing of two rotary driven 'i eitierfts whii they are rotat ing that is, to advaiiee oriet'a' i ie i'eia-tive orbital positions of the two elements with r'espeet to e'ah' other. -I n inepaet; "c iifferentiai geari-iig has been employed for this pii-fpo'se: '1'3ifierentia1 gearing is conipiica'ted and expensive, involving the use of a fiiifltipl ii t-y; of preisi'on but *gears and -requiri ng oofisiiier'abiemaintenance and lubrication.

' "the *obj' ect of th'e presen't ihveiitionto provide a simple --an("i inexpensivedrive medhahism for *io'rmihg a driving tonnecti'onbetween'twe rotary shafts or -other rot'a ry elements which is capable of bro'vid'ing var-iabi'e adjustment of --the refative positional timing-of the two elements they are rotating a'i'ndthis without the use of the mehazi-i sm commonly termed differ'en tiai geaiifig many gearing ii/hatsoev'er. A "further object *of the iiiven'tioii "is to provide a combinatan b'e "adjusted-80 thatthe second mechanism buts e ebs precisely at the ends of the sheets Zii'it a, sertel by themechanism.

-I "general; the 'variably aidjustable d'r'iv'e of the tion compr-ises ahenciiess fieiiibieii-riving element,

5315 a Chain O'i' bang-having Sflb f stamiai amount oisiaek thereihi nd conri'ebtiifg 1 Claim. (Cl. 743242. 1)

adjusted amounted the'islack in the flexible diii/ ing element between the two spans This transfer of slaek advances or' retards one :ot the rotary elements With .respecttethe other and hence variably adjusts their relative timing-e In describinginventioninde'tail, met-erenee will he made toihe accompanying drawings in which an embodiment thereof ihas been illustrated in coniunctioh with the sheet inserting and folding v.mechanisrn of a rotary newspaper printing" press In the (draw-mes Fig.4 is an end elevation *of thedriv ingim echa nism, the folder and the 1 sheet cutting and in-i serting :meoha'nism of a press incorporating my. variably uaxijustable drive, with the housing-sot theadjustable driveiremovedl;

Fig. S2 is. a-Isid'e elevation o'f i :the mechanism shown" in 1, taken along the line 2-4 0f Fig"--1; l ne; 3 is an enlarged elevatiohof the sheet mit ting and inset ting inech'ahism,v taken on the line saeiiaigie; V "Fig. 4-45 a plan view of "the-mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Fig; 5 is an elevation on an "enlarged scale of the "vaiiably adjustabiedrive of the invention;

6 is em enlarged sectional view taken along the-line 150i :Eig. 5 with the chain omitted; Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional Jiewz taken along the line 1-4 of #Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic representation reina modification of the variabl adjustable di ive.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs; 1 "and the printing press of which a por tion is illustrated, is of a constructionemployin'g two or-more printing-couples one :of which can be hperatea at half the standara speed and so can deliver a meta moving at half of the hernia} web sp'e'ed. The other prin ting coiipl'e or intoseparate product's "or product seeti'ons on a fdld'e" o'f khown-eo'nstruction. A'printingpress oi this i oiistiiuc'tion is described in detail in' Pbit timing operation '6f; the i1rive'so as: to tf'ahsfr $5 ent Nix-53385559; 'iIn'the operation-'-ofthei'i 'ie'ehiv nism generally described above, the relation in time between the operation of the sheet accelerator A in inserting cut sheets at spaced points between the full speed webs Ill and I I and the cutting operation of the cutting couple of the folder F must be precisely adjusted in order that the positions of the edges of the inserted sheets may coincide with the points at which the cutting couple of the folder F severs the webs I and I I. If this timing relation is not properly adjusted, the ends of the inserted sheets cut from the half speed web 9 by the sheet accelerator A will not coincide with the ends of the product sections cut from the full speed webs I0 and II by the cutting couple of the folder F, with the result that narrow strips of web will be cut from one end of each inserted sheet and the other end thereof will fall short of the end of the product section out from the full speed webs. By employing as a driving connection between the folder F and the sheet accelerator A my improved variably adjustable drive, the required adjustment in relative timing can be made while the press and its sheet accelerator and folder are in operation.

-Referring to the illustrated mechanism, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a press driving motor M is suitably mounted on a base I4 adjacent the press side frame I5 and is connected by a chain I6 to a sprocket H on the main drive shaft l8 of the press. It will be understood that the shaft I8 is connected through suitable gearing I9 to drive the impression cylinders, printing cylinders, and other mechanism constituting the printing couples of the press, which couples print the webs 9, I0 and Il. The main drive shaft I8 is also connected through the gears and 2I to drive the folding cylinder 22 of the folder F.

The folder F is of conventional known construction and may, for example, be of the construction described in detail in Patent No. 1,848,- 591. As shown, the folder F comprises generally a former 23 over which the webs are centrally folded and from which they are led through the leading in rolls 24 and the nipping rolls 25 to the nip between the folding cylinder 22 and the cutting and collecting cylinder 26. The cutting cylinder carries a knife 21 that cooperates with the usual cutting rubbers 28 on the folding cylin der 22. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the cut products or product sections are tucked between the folding rolls 29 by conventional folding blades on the folding cylinder 22 and are thus delivered to the pockets of the fan 39, which in turn deposits them on the delivery tapes 3 I The sheet accelerator A is employed to add one sheet or'two pages to one of two product sections that are later combined by a collect operation of the folder F in a known manner. To this end, the sheet accelerator A here disclosed includes a cutting couple comprising a cutting cylinder 32 carrying a knife 33 and a cooperating backing up cylinder 34, endless chains 35 and 36 run over sprockets 31 and 38 carried on the shaft of the cutting cylinder 32, and these chains run over guides 99 and 39 and over sprockets 40 and AI carried on the shaft of a stripping cylinder 42. The chains 35 and 36 carry sheet carry ing pins 43 and 44 disposed opposite each other, the ends of which pins extend into grooves 45, 46, in the backing up cylinder and into grooves 47, 48 in the drag roller I2. A lower guide pan 50 supports the severed sheets carried by the pins 43 and 44 and extends to a point adjacent the nip between the stripping cylinder 42 and the drag roller I2. Upper guides 5| hold the sheets on the pan 50 and extend into grooves 49 in the stripping cylinder 42 and continue over the surface of the drag roller I2, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The sheet accelerator A is driven by a jack shaft 52 connected through the bevel gears 53 to the shaft of the cutting cylinder 32 and through the bevel ge-ars'54 to the shaft of the drag roller I2. As the severed sheets are carried .by the pins 43 and 44 over the curved path of decreasing radius defined by the guide means described, the sheets are in turn accelerated from half standard web speed to full standard web speed and are inserted between and consolidated with the full speed webs I9 and II. The sheets cut from the half speed web 9 are thus inserted at equally spaced points along the full speed webs Ii! and I I. With this arrangement, every second product section cut from the webs in the folder F has one sheet or two pages more than the intervening sections. The construction and operation of the sheet accelerator is described more in detail in the above-noted Patent No. 2,385,659 and. another form of such mechanism is described in my copending application Serial No. 151,846, filed March 25, 1950, now abandoned, and entitled Web Accelerating Apparatus.

- Referring now more particularly to the variably adjustable drive of the invention, this drive is here illustrated as forming a driving connection between the folder F and the sheet accelerator A, and to this end is connected between the main drive shaft I8 that drives the folder F and th jack shaft 52 that drives the sheet accelerator A.

As best shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the illustrated embodiment of my improved drive comprises an endless flexible driving element in the form of a double roller chain 55 engaging a sprocket 56 fixed to the main drive shaft I8 and a sprocket 5'I fixed to the parallel jack shaft 52, there being a considerable amount of slack in the chain 55. Two idler sprockets 58 and 59 respectively engage like sides of the chain 55 along the opposite spans thereof. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, these idlers 58 and 59 both engage the outside of the chain at substantially opposite points near the sprocket 56. As an alternative, the two idlers 58 and 59 could with like effect respectively engage the inside of the chain 55 along its opposite spans, as illustrated in Figure 8. The idlers 58 and 59 are rotatably carried by studs 60 and GI fixed to spaced points on a sector plate 62 that is journalled on and movable about the main drive shaft I8,

The distance between the axes of the idlers 58 and 59 is such that they deflect the chain 55 along its opposite spans sufficiently to take up the slack in the chain. To permit adjustment of the distance between the idlers to compensate for Wear, the stud 69 of the idler sprocket 53 is adjustably fixed in an arcuate slot 63 in the sector plate 62 and is adjustably movable along this slot by suitable means, such as a screw 84. The idler carrying sector plate is adjustably movable to move the idlers 58 and 59 in unison transversely of the spans of the chain 55, whereby the slack in the chain can be adjustably transferred between its two spans, with the result that the relative timing of the two shafts Iii and 52 is adjustably altered. A stationary housing 65 encloses the lower sprocket 59 and the idler carrying sector plate 62. A poppet B6 fixed to the housing 65 rotatably carries a sleeve 6'! having a central threaded bore and having collars 63 and t9 thereon that respectively engage opposite faces of the poppet 66. A hand wheel iii is fixed to the sleeve 6?. A threaded eye-bolt H is secured to an extended end of the stud Bl of the idler sprocket 59 by means of a wing nut 12. The threaded shank of the eye bo t H engages the threaded bore of the sleeve t'l so that rotation of the hand wheel moves sector plate 62 and thus moves the two idlers .32 and 59 in unison transversely of the spans of the chain 55. The Wing nut '52 serves to clamp the sector plate 82 in its adjusted position by pressing a washer 73 against a face of the housing 55 adjacent an arcuate slot is therein through which the end of the stud 6i extends. A pointer l5 fixed by a nut it to the shank of the eye-bolt l'i rides along a scale plate '5? fixed to the poppet 6t and indi cates the adjusted position of the idler sprockets 58 and 5t and so indicates the adjusted time re lation between the drive connected shafts it and 52. The housing 55 preferably encloses the entire chain 55 and the upper sprocket 5'? as well as the folder drive gear is on the shaft it.

In operation, if the sheets fed by the sheet accelerator A are advanced too much with respect to the web or webs it, i l with which they are consolidated so that the leading ends of these sheets are again out in the cutting couple of the folder F, then the operator moves the sector plate 52 counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, so as to increase the amount of slack in the span of the chain 55 that is engaged by the idler 58, and thus retard the timing of the sheet accelerator A with respect to the folder F. If the inserted sheets are retarded, so that their trailing ends are recut in the cutting couple of the folder F, this is corrected by moving the sector plate 62 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, to transfer more slack to the span of the chain 55 that is engaged by the idler 59. When the idlers engage the inside of the chain spans, as illustrated in Fig. 8, the direction of movement of the idlers for a given adjustment is reversed. Thus the adjustment, which retards the timing of the sheet accelerator shaft 52 with respect to the folder drive shaft 28, is illustrated by the movement of the parts from the positions illustrated in the full lines to those illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 8. By the described adjustment, the relative timing of the sheet accelerator A which inserts the sheets cut from the half speed web and the cutting couple of the folder F that cuts the webs it! and i l with which the sheets are consolidated can be so regulated that the webs are cut in the folder precisely at the ends of the inserted sheets.

Although my improved adjustable drive has been described in connection with a particular application in which it connects the sheet accelerator and the folder of a printing press, it is to he understood that the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to this particular application of the drive.

I claim:

an adjustable drive comprising two parallel shafts carrying aligned sprockets, an endless chain engaging said sprockets and having a substantial amount of slack therein, a pair of idlers respectively engaging the outside of said chain along its opposite spans and adjacent one of said sprockets, an idler support journalled on the shaft of said one of said sprockets, means rotatabiy securing said respective idlers to spaced points on said support, means for variably adjusting the distance between said idlers, and means for adjustably turning said idler support about said shaft whereby said idlers are moved in unison transversely of the spans of said chain and slack is transferred between the spans of said chain.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,107,382 Tygard Aug. 18, 1914 1,599,552 Chisholm Sept. 14:, 1926 2,229,226 Scott et a1 Jan. 21, 1941 2,352,797 Miller July 4, 1944 2,385,659 Tornberg Sept. 25, 1945 2,474,457 Barth June 28, 1949 2,600,284 Tranter June 10, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 77,223 Germany Mar. 4, 1894 228,061 Germany Nov. 2, 1910 

